


just let your body move

by moon__goddess



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M, Multi, a) my thing for dancer idols, and b) my fucking exo-m kink, feat. one lesbian oc, if this develops into smut i'll add some more tags but idk yet, its fine everythings fine, so many damn cameos, this is basically me exposing myself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 14:19:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16410068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon__goddess/pseuds/moon__goddess
Summary: Minseok misses dancing, but his schedule is ridiculously packed preparing for his re-debut, so he's pleasantly surprised when his new manager agrees to let him take a class at a studio one of the company choreographers recommended.Jongdae has never liked dancing, but when he gets his comeback pushed because the company thinks he's not a strong enough dancer, he's pleasantly surprised when one of his newer friends tells him he can get him a spot in the class he takes.Yixing loves dancing, always has, but lately the rest of his life has been feeling a little lackluster, so he's pleasantly surprised when two very attractive men show up in one of the classes he teaches at his studio.(this is so self-indulgent it Hurts)





	just let your body move

Minseok groans as he flops on his bed.  He feels like he has no energy left to unpack all of his boxes, but just glancing at them and the mess they make on his floor makes him feel slightly uneasy, so he reluctantly pushes himself up and sets to work.

He turns on his Bluetooth speaker and thumbs through his music library before settling on his pump-up playlist, and hums along as he starts opening boxes.  Moving to a new apartment by himself is scary, especially combined with changing companies, but he thinks he’ll be okay. The company he had signed with is very well-known and has produced quite a number of top celebrities, so he’s pretty excited about finally launching his career into the stratosphere.

The apartment slowly takes shape, his pile of flattened cardboard in the corner growing, and he tears into the last couple to see his clothes and photo albums from high school.  Once he puts everything away, he sits on his small couch and flips through the album. Memories pop out at him, from the year he started taking dance classes to winning his first taekwondo championship to the day his advisor told him to switch to the music and performance track because she had heard him sing with the school chorus.  He pauses on a photo from graduation, him with his arms slung around Yoojung and Dongwoo, all three of them grinning like idiots. He blinks and turns the page before he can think about Yoojung any longer.

His mother had caught the moment he had received his first signing offer on camera, and he brushes his fingers along the edges of the photo, smiling fondly down at his nineteen-year-old self, caught forever in ecstatic shock.

His career hasn’t been bad by any means; he’s released a mini album and been featured on plenty of songs, he’s cameoed in more drama episodes than he can count, and he’s held a couple of small fan meetings, which is more than a lot of people can say.  But this company had approached him after he’d finished his first musical run, saying they’d been watching him for a while and would he like to come work with them instead, and he’d mulled it over for a while before actually saying yes with the blessing of his parents and his former company.

He closes the photo album, smiling a little.  His first day there is tomorrow so he thinks he should try and get some sleep.  He tucks the album onto the middle shelf of his bookcase and turns his speaker off before heading to the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth.  Once that’s done, he sets his alarm for 6, just like normal, and flicks his light off before falling asleep to thoughts of his fresh start.

 

Minseok takes a sip of his coffee as he follows Leeteuk down the hall.  “These are our practice rooms,” his new manager says, gesturing at the five doors lining the hallway.  “All large enough for a full dance practice.” They turn right and pass by some offices, one with five people all hunched over a laptop, before they stop at a set of elevator doors.  Leeteuk hits up, and it doesn’t take long for the doors to ding and hiss apart. A very tall man steps out and almost walks right into Leeteuk.

“Ah, sorry!”  He looks up from his phone and his face splits into a grin.  “Leeteuk!”

“Hi, Chanyeol,” Leeteuk says, smiling back.  “This is our newest addition to the SM team.”  He gestures to Minseok.

Minseok inclines his head.  “Hi,” he says softly. Chanyeol grins down at him - he’s got to be at least six inches taller, and when Minseok looks up briefly and meets his eyes he notes that Chanyeol is surprisingly good-looking, even more so than the many, many photos of him on the internet make him out to be. 

“Welcome to the team,” Chanyeol says in his deep voice.  “Teuk, I gotta run, I told Kyungsoo I’d meet him on set.”  He steps around them. “See you around!” He waves and then continues walking, his long legs carrying him down the hall and around the corner.  

Leeteuk steps into the elevator and Minseok follows, still a little shell-shocked that he had just met Park Chanyeol, one-half of the duo Lightfire, one of the most successful acts this century.  He doesn’t see what floor Leeteuk presses but he starts when a hand falls on his shoulder. “Everyone at the company is very friendly,” Leeteuk says, smiling at him. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”  Minseok gives him a small smile in return and twists his fingers together.

They step out of the elevator and Minseok blinks in awe.  The hall is lined with windows, all showing various recording rooms.  “Wow,” he breathes. Leeteuk chuckles lightly.

“This is our main studio,” he explains, walking past the empty rooms.  “It’s pretty dead today, but some days you can’t find an empty corner.”  They stop at an open door. “This is the break room,” Leeteuk continues, sticking his head into the room.  “We keep it stocked with snacks, and there’s usually someone in here either watching TV or napping.” He gestures for Minseok to look in and Minseok huffs a quiet laugh at what he sees, as one tall, slender guy has his eyes glued to the television mounted on the wall and another tall, more muscular guy is passed out on the couch next to him.  Leeteuk shakes his head, smiling ruefully, as he backs up a step and they continue down the hall. They pass a couple more production offices and then Minseok hears a loud yell coming from the last door on their left. “HEY!” the voice says, and he can hear someone else laughing. “I said you were better!” More laughing, interspersed with the occasional shriek, emanates from the room.  Leeteuk rolls his eyes and bangs on the door before shoving it open.

Minseok’s eyes widen at the sight in front of him.  Two guys are frozen in the middle of the room between the soundboard and the computer screens, clearly having been wrestling.  The one currently in a headlock, who’s got the most interesting combination of black and red highlights in his hair, looks up at Leeteuk and grins, showing sharp canines.  “Hi, Teuk,” he says sweetly. 

“Save it for Heechul, Baekhyun,” Leeteuk responds.  Minseok blinks as the name sinks into his brain. He now recognizes him as Byun Baekhyun, the second half of Lightfire.  The guy holding Baekhyun in a headlock straightens and turns around to face the door, and Minseok’s breath is knocked from his chest.

Because that guy is none other than Chen, the best vocalist he’s heard since Changmin retired from the music scene five years ago.

And holy fuck, is he attractive in person.

Chen’s blond hair falls into his eyes as he tightens his hold around Baekhyun’s neck and smiles at the two of them standing in the doorway, which only serves to draw Minseok’s attention to both his curly kitty lips and his high, sharp cheekbones.  “Hi, Leeteuk,” he says, and the sweep of his voice gives Minseok the chills. “Do I have permission to strangle him yet?”

“Hey!”  Baekhyun squirms under Chen’s arm.  “You can’t kill me, Jongdae, then who would laugh at your jokes?”

“Literally everyone else,” Chen responds quickly.  “I’m hilarious.” 

Minseok can't help the laugh that escapes him when Baekhyun groans and rolls his eyes.  Chen’s gaze snaps from Leeteuk to where he's standing, half in the door and half out, and the intensity he sees in those brown eyes causes him to flush slightly.

“You’d have to clear it with Heechul,” Leeteuk is saying, when Chen interrupts him.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?”  He shoots Minseok a smile.

“Oh, of course,” Leeteuk says.  “Baekhyun, Chen, this is Xiumin, our newest addition.”  He motions for Minseok to come forward.

“Xiumin is my stage name,” he says, smiling tentatively at the two of them as he takes a couple steps into the room.  “Please, you can call me Minseok, it’s completely fine.” He bows and extends his hand.

Chen takes it first, shaking and returning the bow.  “Only if you do the same for me,” he says. “I’m Jongdae.”

Minseok nods and Chen - Jongdae - lets go of his hand, only for Baekhyun to snatch it up.  “It’s nice to meet you,” he says, grinning. “We finally have a new face around here!” He drops Minseok’s hand and snaps his fingers at Leeteuk.  “Is the meeting tonight his introduction?” Leeteuk nods and Baekhyun whoops. “We’ll see you tonight then!”

“Ah, yes,” Minseok responds.  Leeteuk waves at them and ushers Minseok out of the room, but not before he hears a smack followed by an exaggeratedly pain-filled whine of “Whyyyyyyy.”  

 

The rest of his day is relatively uneventful.  Leeteuk finishes the tour and then they spend a few hours in meetings, already discussing potential projects and how best to utilize his skills. Before he knows it, he’s being presented to a large group of other artists and celebrities, and Baekhyun immediately latches onto him and introduces him around.  He meets Chanyeol again, officially this time, and then Do Kyungsoo, the award-winning actor, and then a couple of familiar-looking models whose names he thinks are Huang Zitao and Wu Yifan. Jongdae joins him and Baekhyun after he is introduced to Sehun and Jongin, two members of the dance group The Performance (who, funnily enough, are the two he had seen chilling in the break room earlier), and then everyone becomes a blur of names and faces.  He shakes hands with three different girl groups, a vocal trio of three younger boys, and more models, actors, and producers than his brain can remember. Eventually, the meeting breaks up, and he waves to a few of them as he heads out. Leeteuk had been right - everyone had been friendly, and he thinks that this had been a good decision.

 

Minseok basically doesn't rest for the next two weeks.  He spends about eight hours a day in the recording studio, first doing tracks for a demo so the producers can hear what his unedited voice sounds like, and then doing voiceovers and intros and other such sound bits for his new company-owned website.  He has a couple photo shoots as well, one where he almost fainted because of the heat (the director had put him in a large sweater with another long-sleeve over it and then sent him outside in the middle of June for so called “aesthetic” photos) and another where he thought the female staff members were all going to faint.  He had enjoyed that shoot much more. The director for that one had put him in tight black jeans and a green leather jacket with nothing underneath before taking lots of smoke-filled, sultry photos in an abandoned warehouse. (His favorite photo from that shoot was one in which he had shed the jacket, turned in profile, and had run his hands through his hair.  He thinks it’s the best photo of himself he’s ever seen.)

He finally gets a reprieve when Leeteuk cuts his morning meeting short, citing a need to go take care of his pregnant wife for a few hours, so he wanders the halls of the building for a bit before he finds an empty practice room.  His body is sore, having not been pushed this hard in a while, so he runs through his stretches before putting on his dance playlist and letting himself move. He goes through old combos from his previous studios, grinning when he manages to remember all the choreography, and then just freestyles for a while.  He’s been too busy to look for a new studio, but he really wants to keep up his dance training here - it's always been a sort of escape for him, and he likes learning new moves and absorbing different styles from his teachers.

“You’re really good,” comes a voice.  Minseok freezes and whips around. Sehun is leaning in the door of the practice room, arms crossed.  He smiles at Minseok. “Like, really.”

“Ah, thank you,” Minseok says, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks at the floor. 

Sehun shrugs.  “You should come to a Performance practice sometime.  Talk to me, Jongin, or Taemin.” He offers Minseok another small smile before turning to leave.

“Wait!”  Minseok hits pause on his music and takes a step toward Sehun.  “You, uh, wouldn't happen to know a good studio around here? I want to get back into some dance classes.”  Sehun raises an eyebrow and then his eyes light up.

“Follow me,” he says, and then he strides out of the room and down the hall, Minseok hurrying to keep up with his long legs.  He stops by a closed practice room and opens the door a crack, sticking his head in. “Hey, Mihawk, got a sec?” Minseok hears him say, and then he’s followed out by a powerful-looking man wearing all black.

“Mihawk, Minseok; Minseok, Mihawk,” Sehun says.  They shake hands. “Minseok was wondering about dance studios in the area,” Sehun continues.  “I figured you would know a couple.”

Mihawk smiles.  “There’s a few good ones,” he says, “but the one I most often recommend is Zhang Dance Studio.  The owner’s really good about having celebs in his classes, and he caters to all levels.” He glances at Minseok.  “It’s mainly hip-hop, but I know the instructors get a lot of inspiration from other styles as well.”

“Actually,” Minseok says softly, “that sounds perfect.”

Mihawk grins.  “Cool. Here, give me your phone, I’ll write down the info for you.”  Minseok passes him his phone and he types a few lines of text before handing it back. “And if you see an instructor named Yixing there at some point,” Mihawk adds as he turns to head back into his practice room, “can you tell him I say ‘hello and hurry up’?” 

“Okay,” Minseok responds, and Mihawk grins before slipping inside.

“Thanks, Sehun,” he says as they start heading back down the hall.  The taller guy rubs the back of his neck.

“No prob,” he answers.  They reach the room where Minseok has been earlier and he’s about to go back inside when a shriek of Sehun’s name has them both turn.

Somehow he’s not surprised to see Baekhyun jogging down the hall towards them.  “You didn't forget about lunch, right?” he asks as he reaches them.

Sehun pouts.  “Of course not.”

“Then let’s go; everyone’s waiting.”  He grins at Minseok. “You eaten yet, Minseok?”

He shakes his head.  “Then come with,” Baekhyun says.  “There’s gamjatang at the café today.”  

Minseok hesitantly returns Baekhyun’s smile. “Okay,” he says, “let me just grab my stuff.”

 

Lunch with the others, Minseok thinks, will quickly become a part of his daily routine.  Everyone had welcomed him with open arms, and when he tentatively made a joke at Chanyeol’s expense he was rewarded with Jongdae’s bright laughter.  That had led to a complete roast session, and by the end of lunch he was holding his stomach, doubled over, unable to stop giggling. 

Once they all put their dishes away, Jongdae and Chanyeol lead him to the meeting room where he’s supposed to talk with a few different producers and PR people to discuss his image and sound, joking with him the whole way.  He asks Leeteuk at the end of that meeting about the studio, and to his surprise his manager agrees, the only stipulation being that he keep the class time consistent so he can write it into his schedule. 

When he gets home that night, he pulls up his laptop and types in the website that he’s got saved in his notes.  He skims through, pleased when he sees the list of accolades the studio’s instructors have received, and lets out a low whistle when he stumbles upon a master playlist of every musician stage the studio has choreographed.  He finally finds the class schedule, and is happy to see that there’s an intermediate/advanced evening class that meets twice a week. He clicks that one to register and fills out the short profile form that pops up, checking off the box that signifies his status as an idol, and then sends Leeteuk the times.

His excitement about getting back in the studio carries over into his day, and even Jongdae comments on it during lunch.  Minseok just grins and says, “It’s a good day, that’s all,” before continuing to eat his kimchi jjigae. 

He gets out of his last meeting (this one already about sponsorship ads) and hurries to his car, rattling off the address before settling back in the passenger seat.  It takes them about twenty minutes to make their way across the city to the studio, and when they get there Minseok grabs his bag and hops out. “The class will be done around 8, so if you could be back then that would be great,” he says to the driver, who nods in agreement.  Minseok smiles and wiggles his fingers goodbye as he heads in the back door.

The interior of the studio is nice, with wood paneled flooring and cream walls with posters and notices stuck up on scattered corkboards.  The girl sitting at the reception desk grins at him as he walks up. “Hi,” she says brightly. “Are you new?”

“Um, yes,” he responds.

“Awesome!”  She pulls out a form from a file holder next to her computer screen.  “Do you know what class you want to take?”

“Actually,” he says, running a hand through his hair and shifting his weight, “I signed up online.”

“Ah,” she says, nodding in understanding and stuffing the paper back into its slot.  “Can I just get your name?”

“Kim Minseok.”

She types it in and hits a few more keys, scanning the screen, before looking back at him.  “Okay, Minseok, you’re all set,” she says, smiling again. “You’re a little early, your class doesn’t start until 6:30, but you’re welcome to stretch out here or watch the end of the advanced class.”  She gestures towards the two full-length windows that encompass a glass door.

“Thank you,” he says, bowing, and turns towards the actual studio room.  There are a few people warming up and chatting quietly along the hall, and he smiles a little at the one girl holding onto the metal window frame and staring in as she mindlessly pulls her leg behind her into a quad stretch.  He drops his bag and glances inside as he crosses his arms to stretch out his chest and suddenly he understands why that girl is staring.

The group of dancers in there is eye-catching.  Every single one of them is beautiful, from the tall blond guy in a white t-shirt to the dark-haired guy leaning over the music player to the three girls giggling together, one a toned blonde, one with a dark bob, and one with waist-length black hair.  Minseok’s gaze lands on a shorter guy with an undercut, three small stripes shaved into the side of his head, and he watches as the guy grins and jabs another guy in the ribs, and then the air rushes out of Minseok’s lungs as the other man turns and smiles, revealing a stunning side profile and what looks to be the world’s deepest dimple.  

His stretching forgotten, his eyes follow dimple guy as they set up in a formation and someone hits play, and then they start dancing and Minseok lets out a little gasp.  They’re  _ phenomenal _ .

“Good, right?” he hears from over his shoulder.

He turns and sees the girl by the other window smiling at him.  “Yeah,” he admits, looking back at the group. 

“Honestly,” she says, also staring back into the room, “if I was a quarter as good as one of them I would be happy.”

“I get the feeling,” Minseok replies.  The group inside finishes their choreography and start whooping, giving each other high fives, and Minseok and the girl look at each other and grin.

“I’m Eundae,” she says, holding out her hand.  

“Minseok.”  They shake and then back away from the door as everyone inside comes spilling out, still laughing and talking.

Eundae grabs her bag and waves Minseok into the studio along with the few other people that had been stretching in the hall.  Once in, she plops her stuff in a corner and turns to him again, hands interlocked behind her back. “Is this your first class?” she asks, bending forward so her arms are almost perpendicular to the ground.

“Yeah,” Minseok admits, putting his bag down as well.  “I just moved here.”

“Oh, cool!” She tilts her head up from where it's hanging at her knees to look at him.  “Where are you living? Have you been downtown yet? There’s this amaaazing burger place like five minutes from my apartment, you have to go.”  She shoots him another smile as she drops to the ground, settling into a split.

Minseok feels himself relaxing at the warm air Eundae gives off, so he tentatively smiles back at her.  “I haven't really had time to explore yet,” he says, sitting down and folding himself over his legs. “And I think my manager might kill me if I start frequenting a burger place.”

Eundae’s eyes widen.  “Oh, what company are you with?  I thought you looked familiar.” She shrugs as she switches sides.  “Not that it matters much, but I can’t tell anyone anyway. Part of the registration for us regular people -” she cracks another smile and Minseok thinks he’s never seen someone smile this much during a conversation “- is a confidentiality agreement.”

“Oh,” he says, rolling his shoulders.  “I just joined SM.”

Eundae is silent and Minseok looks over at her.  He can’t help his small snort when he meets her eyes.  She’s gaping at him, unblinking, stretching forgotten. He’s about to burst out laughing when a pair of hands land on Eundae’s shoulders. 

“God, stop staring at the newbie, Eundae,” the guy with an undercut from the last class says.  “I hope she’s not bothering you at all,” he adds, this time to Minseok, and then he flashes an extremely white smile.  “Eundae can be a little over-enthusiastic.”

She smacks his arms away from her and rolls away to sprawl on the ground, causing the guy (and Minseok) to start giggling.  “Why are you like this, Ten,” she whines.

He grins down at her.  “Because you deserve it,” he says, and when she hits his leg and he whines in pain Minseok really does burst into real, loud laughter, folding himself into a ball to hold his stomach.  

“What is going on over here?” a new voice says.

“Nothing,” Eundae and Ten chorus.

“Sure doesn’t look like nothing,” the voice responds.  “Are you alright?”

Minseok wipes a tear away, still grinning, and unwraps his arms to meet the warm brown gaze of dimple guy.  He nods, face getting warmer by the second. “Okay,” dimple guy says, smiling slightly. “Ten, stop bothering my students and go set up the music.”  He salutes and heads over to the music player while dimple guy looks down at Eundae, still sprawled on the floor. “How’s your back?” he says. She shrugs.

“It’s fine.”  He crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows.  Minseok swallows, his throat drier than before at the sight of those rippling biceps.  “I know, modify the jumps and anything that hurts,” she says, pouting as she sits up, and dimple guy nods.

“I need you to take care of yourself, okay?” he says, and when she nods he flashes her a grin and goes over to where Ten is frowning down at a laptop next to the music system.

Eundae pushes herself off the floor and shoots Minseok another smile before walking over to her bag and pulling out a water bottle.  He looks back down at his feet, bending over them once more to give his hamstrings a good stretch, and as he’s straightening he hears dimple guy call, “All right, everyone!”

He glances around - there are about fifteen people in the class, and he’s in the second row, close to the center, so he doesn't move from his spot as dimple guy makes his way to the front.  He spots Eundae in the back, rolling her neck, but his gaze keeps returning to dimple guy, who’s standing in front of the mirror in a black tank top and sweatpants.

“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Yixing,” he says, smiling a little.  “We have a couple of new people here today -” Minseok blinks as he meets his gaze “- so I hope the rest of you don’t mind a little review later.”  He claps his hands and turns so he faces the mirror. “Follow along with the warmup as best you can if you don’t know it, it’s the same every class so you’ll pick it up quickly.”  Minseok sees a girl’s shoulders sag in relief and then music starts pounding through the room.

The warmup is pretty quick but intense, and Minseok finds himself peeking up at the front row (and Yixing) throughout to make sure he doesn’t miss any steps. They move to a short series of dynamic stretches and then Yixing lies down on the floor and goes into the most intense ab series Minseok’s ever seen from a dance instructor.  He flops back when they finally end, his abs already sore, and when he sits back up he’s slightly ashamed at the damp outline of his body on the floor until he sees that everyone else has one too.

“Get some water,” Yixing says, looking around the class, “and then we’ll go across the floor.”

Minseok uses the hem of his shirt to wipe his forehead as he walks over to his water bottle.  He takes three large gulps, swishing the last around his mouth before swallowing, and then someone nudges his side.  He whips his head to look at them and smiles when he locks eyes with Eundae.

“Not bad,” she says, closing her water bottle.  “Pair up with me for floor?” He puts his water back down, glancing over to where Yixing is herding everyone else into two lines, before nodding.  “Great!” She grins at him and does a little hop as she walks away, cuffing the back of Ten’s head when she passes him and subsequently ignoring the glare he sends her way.  Minseok rolls his shoulders as he walks over to join her in the lines, holding his breath when he catches a glimpse of a  _ very _ toned chest underneath that tank top as he passes right by Yixing.

A new song with a thumping beat starts, and most of Minseok’s thoughts about his instructor’s chest are wiped from his brain as he tries to follow along with the increasingly complex steps across the floor, but they return, along with other, definitely inappropriate ones as Yixing demonstrates the next combo and Minseok sees his arms ripple, the muscles in his shoulders flex, and his entire body flow through the movements with a practiced ease.  He tries to refocus on the choreography and mainly succeeds, but the constant sight of Yixing in that damn tank top keeps intruding into his brain. He throws himself into the combo, attacking every run with all of his energy, hoping against hope that he can distract himself from his very attractive instructor, but oh god does it not work. Yixing is relentless (even though Minseok knows he doesn’t intend it, it’s just his hormones that are completely out of whack), always seeming to walk by Minseok or watch him do a movement right when he’s managed to put him out of his head.  He apparently does a decent enough job of hiding it, though, since Eundae doesn’t nudge him or anything - he’s gathered by now that she’s fearless, confident, and totally comfortable with lightly teasing everyone around her.

They finish the exercises and Yixing calls for another water break before they gather in the center of the room once again and he jumps right into a combination.  Minseok has never been more thankful that he picks up choreography relatively quickly, because Yixing moves pretty fast through the steps, pausing only occasionally if one of the other students calls out a clarification.  They run the first sixteen counts with music a few times, and then he adds on, and they run that, and then Yixing grins and claps his hands. “I’m going to keep going on,” he announces. “You’ve all got those counts pretty much down, so I think you can handle this next part.”  

Minseok hears one of the girls to his left mutter “That look in his eye is never a good thing” to her friend and he gulps.

Yixing does the next eight counts very slowly and Minseok immediately knows that girl was right.  It takes him a few tries to get his feet to hit the movements on the right counts, but then he goes to add the arms in and he feels like he’s back in beginners class.  And their music is nowhere near the slow tempo that Yixing is counting to - oh no, it’s about two and a half times this speed. They run that section again and again, different people asking about specifics related to the arm movements, Yixing upping the speed a little bit every time, and Minseok finally thinks he’s maybe got it when Yixing yells “From the top!” and Ten hits play.

He inhales, exhales, and moves right on time.

They finish the combo and Yixing’s face splits into a huge smile.  “That was great, everyone!” he exclaims, and the sight of his gleaming white teeth and that gorgeous, deep dimple lodges itself into Minseok’s brain.  He gulps down air, panting from the exertion, and tries to get his heart rate back under control. Yixing glances at the clock in the corner of the room.  “Ah, we’re out of time today,” he says, waving everyone back to the center, “so next time we’ll go in smaller groups. Try not to forget the steps!” He smiles around at everyone.  “Let’s quickly stretch and then you’re all free to go.”

He leads them in a short series of stretches, and Minseok’s muscles are already protesting - he knows he’s going to need a decent amount of painkillers to not be sore tomorrow.  Before he knows it, Yixing is turning off the music and dismissing the class. He slowly makes his way over to his bag, taking another swig from his water before gathering his things up.  

“You were fabulous,” a voice says from behind him, and Minseok turns to see Yixing dimpling at him.  “Minseok, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”  He flushes a little as he shakes Yixing’s hand.  “Thank you. Your class was amazing.”

Yixing brushes off the compliment, smiling, and Minseok cannot believe how stunning he is.  “I can see why you were offered a contract with SM.” 

“Uh, thank you.”  Minseok rubs the back of his neck, looking down at the floor.  “Oh!” He glances back up, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile as he remembers what Mihawk had told him the other day.  “Yixing?”

“Yes?”  His instructor turns back to face him.  

“Um, Mihawk told me to tell you to hurry up.  I just remembered.”

Yixing’s eyes widen before he bursts out laughing.  “Mihawk can fuck off, the comeback isn’t for another three months at least,” he says through his giggles.  “Oh, don’t tell him I said that - you know what, tell him I said that, he deserves to hear it.” 

Minseok can’t help the laugh that escapes him.  “I’ll let him know.”

Yixing grins at him again.  “See you next time,” he calls, and Minseok smiles back before he turns to pick up his stuff.  He heads for the door, returning Ten’s wave, and is in the middle of putting his boots back on when Eundae catches his arm.

“Oh thank god,” she gasps, “I wasn’t sure if you’d left already.  Here.” She thrusts her phone at him. “Put your number in; I wanna be able to bitch to you tomorrow about how sore I’m gonna be.”

Minseok snorts as he takes the phone from her and types in his contact information.  “Trust me, I’m already feeling it.”

“Right?”  Eundae accepts her phone back from him and grins.  “You’re really good, though. Like… wow.”

He shakes his head.  “No, definitely not. You’re absolutely better than me.”

“Me? Oh no, I do NOT agree,” she retorts, smiling as she shoves her feet into a pair of flip flops.

They walk out of the studio together, bickering, and Minseok is reluctant to end the conversation when he sees his driver waiting at the side of the building.  “I’ll see you in a couple days,” he says, gesturing toward his car.    
Eundae grins.  “I expect a full soreness report in the morning.”

“Same to you,” he says, and they wave at each other as he climbs in and tells his driver to take him home.

 

Sure enough, when Minseok wakes up the next morning, his entire body protests when he attempts to get out of bed.  He collapses back against his pillow and groans before forcing himself to get up. He gingerly makes his way to the bathroom cabinet where his painkillers live and pops three before brushing his teeth and grimacing at the pull in his shoulders.  He plods back to his bedroom, rolling his neck to try and alleviate the tightness he can feel lingering, and wincing when it cracks very loudly. He rubs the side of his neck and pulls his phone off its charger, smiling to himself when he sees that one of his notifications is a message from Eundae, bitching about how sore her legs are.  He types out a response about his neck and shoulders as he walks to his kitchen, pulling things out for breakfast and powering up his coffee machine. 

 

The soreness stays for at least a week, but eventually goes away as Minseok’s body gets used to his new, crazy schedule.  Leeteuk keeps him running around with meetings with different producers and executives and multiple interviews along with photoshoots and the occasional commercial and two live broadcasts on his new streaming channel that the company had set up for him.  When the second one breaks 10 million likes in under ten minutes, Leeteuk somehow gets the cafeteria to make celebratory kimchi jjigae and steamed buns, two of his favorite foods. 

Jongdae pouts that day at lunch.  “Why do they make  _ your _ favorites when you break a company streaming record, but not  _ my _ favorites when I get an all-kill on the charts?”  

“My manager’s just better than yours,” Minseok snarks, and he grins when Jongdae whines and pouts harder in response.  A pouty Jongdae is an extremely cute Jongdae, and Minseok can’t help but flush slightly as he watches him.

“Yah, Jongdae, stop that,” one of the older ballad singers - Minseok’s pretty sure his name is Kyuhyun - says, lightly smacking Jongdae’s arm.  “You’re not cute, no one’s falling for it.”

“Kyuhyuuuuuuuuuun,” Jongdae whines, which makes him burst out laughing.

Minseok has to disagree.  He thinks Jongdae is plenty cute.  The way his eyes sparkle when he smiles, his curly lips, his high, regal cheekbones, the way his Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows, even how his still-bleached hair falls over his forehead - all of that adds up to one very attractive man.  Add in the way Jongdae laughs, and how he always manages to make Minseok smile when they talk, and it hits Minseok like a train. He most definitely has a thing for Kim Jongdae.

Of course, that doesn’t deter from the fact that he most definitely  _ also _ has a thing for his dance instructor.  Yixing is actually beautiful, with the profile (and body) of a god, and every time he comes over to correct Minseok on a position Minseok holds his breath so Yixing can’t hear how much quicker his heart is pounding.  And of course his smile. Minseok gets the wind knocked out of him every single time he sees Yixing smile. It’s the dimples - it takes Minseok two weeks of attending class to notice Yixing actually has one on each side, but once he does he can’t stop noticing them.  Minseok can’t help staring at him during class, but he hides it well enough that none of his classmates notice, not even Eundae.

He resigns himself to these crushes, because dating scandals have a way of wrecking careers, especially ones of the homosexual variety - even though he’s been open with his companies and his fans from the start of his career, everyone knows he’s bisexual, but he knows from seeing other idols fall from the spotlight that sometimes the damage is irreversible.

 

He’s in the middle of making his breakfast wraps a week after he makes this decision when his phone starts vibrating wildly.  He glances over at it to see that it’s Leeteuk. He hits answer and then puts the call on speaker.

“Hi, Leeteuk,” he says, rolling another wrap.

“Would you care to explain to me why,” his manager starts, and Minseok gulps at the tone of his voice, “I had to find out from Hyukjae that you’re such a good dancer you’ve already been invited to Performance practices?  And that they’re actively trying to recruit you?”

“Uh…”  Minseok racks his brain.  “I didn’t think they were?”  He finishes the wrap he’s working on and wipes his hands on a piece of paper towel.  “Sehun’s only mentioned coming to practice to me twice, and Taemin once when he was meeting one of his friends at the studio.”  He sits at his kitchen table and pulls his phone closer to him. “Also, who’s Hyukjae?”

Leeteuk heaves a sigh.  “Hyukjae is a manager and occasionally a dancer for The Performance.  And he loves to make fun of me because he’s an idiot who doesn’t know when to shut up.”

“Yah, Teukie-hyung!” comes another voice.  “Why are you bad-mouthing me to your artists, huh?”  Minseok stifles a giggle.

“Because it’s true, you fool,” Leeteuk retorts.  “Anyway. They’ve asked you three times to come to a practice?”

“Yes, we have,” yells Hyukjae. 

Minseok feels a smile spread across his face at that.  “Yeah. I’ve been busy though, and I watched some of their videos online, I’m nowhere near as good as them.”

There’s some squawking and then a clatter from his phone speakers.  “Listen to me, Kim Minseok,” comes Hyukjae’s voice, now much easier to hear.  “You are just as good, if not better, than the dancers we currently have. I would give my right arm to have you on the squad from what I’ve heard from Sehun and Taemin.  So please come, we would love to have-” There’s another squeak of pain and a thud and suddenly Leeteuk is back.

“That’s what you get for stealing my phone, you brat,” he says, “even though I will thank you for praising my artist.”  A groan comes through the speaker. “I’ll move things around so you can go to a practice, okay?” Leeteuk continues. “See if it’s something you want to continue.”

“Okay,” Minseok says, reaching for his plate of wraps and finally starting to eat.

“Also, come straight to my office when you get here.  We have a lot to discuss today.”

“Sounds good,” he mumbles through a mouthful of food.  “I’ll see you in forty.”

“Great.”

Before he hits end call he hears Hyukjae yelp in fear, which makes him finish his breakfast with a grin plastered across his face.

 

He does as he’s told, heading straight to the eleventh floor of the building when he arrives, and Leeteuk sweeps the door open for him before he even knocks.  

“Sit, sit,” he says, beaming.  

Minseok collapses in the plush armchair across from Leeteuk’s desk.  “What’s up?”

Leeteuk pauses before saying, “The producers gave us the go-ahead for a digital single.”

“What?”  Minseok blinks at him.  “Are you serious?”

Leeteuk grins at him without saying anything.  

“That’s amazing!” He returns the grin.

“The only catch is that it’s a collaboration single,” Leeteuk adds, still smiling.  “But seeing as it’s with Chen and Baekhyun, I have no doubt that it’ll explode.”

Minseok gapes at him while the words process in his brain.  “Collab? With - with Baekhyun? And Jongdae?”

“Exactly.”  Leeteuk passes him a sheet of paper.  “Here’s your new schedule for this month, with the meetings for the single as well as recording sessions.  Projected release is in ten weeks.”

“Oh my god.”  Minseok scans his schedule. It’s even more packed than he had thought, days completely full.  His only relief is that Leeteuk had left his dance class alone, because he’s sure he’s going to need the mental break that it provides twice a week.  

His manager grins at him again.  “Get ready, Minseok. Korea - and the world - are going to love you.”

 

The first month basically flies by.  He has no time to rest, other than whenever he manages to get home and pass out for a few hours.  The producers are tough, making his recording sessions last hours. His only consolation is that Jongdae and Baekhyun are there too, cracking jokes and laughing with him and shoveling food in their mouths whenever they have a chance.

Baekhyun is even more busy than he is, surprisingly, because Lightfire are preparing for a comeback as well, the month after the digital single is released.  Jongdae gapes at him when he tells them over fried chicken and beer that first Friday after recording, and proceeds to chase him out of the building, whacking him with a dish towel, all while yelling that he needs to actually sleep and take care of himself.  It takes Minseok a full thirty minutes to stop laughing after that.

The very next day Minseok finds his phone being stolen by Baekhyun while Jongdae’s in the studio and they’re waiting their respective turns, and suddenly he’s in a group chat with the three of them and another group chat with lots of other people from the company.  Eundae gasps at the number of notifications he has that week after class, and Minseok just says “Group chat” in explanation. She nods in understanding before Ten joins the two of them, laughing about the fact that Yixing had actually messed up the choreography while teaching it, and Minseok lets their giggles lead him out of the studio while contemplating the incident.  He had been stretching his arms across his chest while watching Yixing do the next eight counts and Yixing had looked up from the floor to scan the class to make sure they were paying attention like he always does and then he just completely messed up the movement, forgetting where they were and doing the steps out of order. It was completely out of place for him, and Minseok feels the breeze whip across his bare arms as he steps outside, wondering if perhaps Yixing was low on sleep or something.  He waves at Ten and Eundae as he leaves, adjusting his tank top after he climbs into his car.

The one thing that continues to get worse as the month goes on is his thing for Jongdae.  Minseok masters the art of not flushing every time Jongdae looks at him early on, but the change that comes over the singer as he steps into the sound booth majorly affects him.  Jongdae is so serious, so focused, and his voice is just as heavenly as ever, as strong in his lower register as it is hitting high notes. “Good, isn’t he?” Baekhyun comments to him one day when Minseok cannot stop staring at Jongdae in the booth.

“Good is almost an understatement,” Minseok responds.  

Baekhyun grins. “Look at us, the three best vocalists in SM,” he says.  Minseok raises his eyebrows - no way is he one of the best.

“Don’t let Kyuhyun and Ryeowook hear you say that,” comes Jongdae’s voice.  He sticks his head out the booth door. “But for what it’s worth, I agree.” He winks at Minseok before retreating back into the booth.

Baekhyun snorts.  

Minseok realizes that his face is the color of a tomato at the same time he realizes that he really, really likes Jongdae.

 

Four weeks before their digital single is supposed to drop, Minseok notices that Jongdae is quieter than usual, much more subdued.  He still laughs at his and Baekhyun’s jokes, and is always ready with a smile whenever Minseok sees him in the building, but he has this metaphorical cloud surrounding him, dimming his bright personality, and it’s like half the sunshine in Minseok’s life is suddenly gone.

He breaks a week later, when Baekhyun is off filming the music video for the Lightfire comeback and no one else seems to be paying them that much attention in the company cafe.  “Okay, what’s wrong?” he says, staring straight at Jongdae.

Jongdae sends him a half-smile.  “Ah, it’s nothing.”

Minseok just raises his eyebrows.

“Really, hyung, I’m fine.”  Jongdae takes another bite of his bibimbap.

“And I don’t believe you,” Minseok responds, putting his chopsticks down.  “Tell me what’s up.”

Jongdae sighs.  “You’re impossible, you know that?”

He shrugs in response and waits for Jongdae to explain.

“They pushed back my comeback dates,” he finally mumbles into his bowl.  When Minseok doesn’t respond, he glances up to meet his surprised stare.

“What?! Why?”  Minseok can’t help the genuine shock in his voice.

“Apparently my dancing isn’t good enough.”  Jongdae swallows another mouthful. “Not for this comeback, anyway.  It doesn’t matter that I normally do ballads with little to no dancing or rock songs where I only jump around, and it doesn’t matter that they KNOW I came to the company with no dance training, they still pushed it back even later than it was planned and they might keep pushing it back if they think I’m not ready and I don’t know what to  _ do _ about it and -” His voice cracks and he buries his face in his hands.

Minseok blinks and before he fully knows what he’s doing he gets up and steps around their table to sit back down next to Jongdae, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.  “Hey.” He rubs Jongdae’s arm comfortingly. “It’s gonna be okay. They’re idiots for pushing you back.” Jongdae leans his head on Minseok’s shoulder, finally dropping his hands from his face.  “And, you know, if you want,” Minseok continues, “I can ask my studio if there’s room for one more in the class I’m in.”

Jongdae glances up at him.  “Really?” he says.

Minseok smiles.  “Of course, Dae. I think you’d enjoy it.”

Jongdae smiles briefly before he looks at the table again.  “But you’re an amazing dancer,” he says dejectedly. “I heard you got recruited by Performance.”

“God, Sehun can’t keep his mouth shut, can he,” Minseok comments, and he’s rewarded with a small chuckle from his friend.

“Nope.  But that means you’re really good, and I’m… not.”

“First of all, shut up,” Minseok responds, giving Jongdae a light shove.  “And second of all, you’ve been an idol for how long?”   
“Four years,” Jongdae mutters.

“Right.  So you can dance.  I’ve seen your music videos, you’re good.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“No, I’m not,” Minseok says, elbowing him.  “You’re good. And if my teacher okays it you should come to class with me.”

Jongdae sighs.  “Fine.”

Minseok grins.  “I have class tomorrow, I’ll ask him then.”  He pushes Jongdae’s coffee towards him. “Now drink up, you need energy for the rest of the day.”

Jongdae elbows him back and takes a long sip before looking at him.  “Thanks, Minseok.”

Minseok rubs the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks warm.  “No problem, Dae. We’re friends, right? That’s what friends do.”

Jongdae grins - a real grin, his normal one that’s full of sunshine and happiness - and the shadows around Minseok’s heart vanish.

 

When Minseok gets to the studio the next day, his stomach bursts into butterflies as soon as he sees Yixing.  It’s almost unfair how good he looks in his low-cut red tank top and blue joggers, his hair covered by a black baseball cap, and Minseok’s tongue feels more like lead the longer he looks at him.  Yixing is talking intently to Ten and the tall blond dancer from the advanced class so he decides to ask him about Jongdae after class, not wanting to interrupt. 

He almost forgets about it when he realizes Eundae isn’t in class, but she bursts through the door right as Yixing starts the warmup and Minseok breathes a sigh of relief, shooting her a quick smile.

She lightly elbows him during the break while he’s skimming all of the messages and photos of the MV set Baekhyun had sent to the group chat.  “Were you worried?”

“Only a little,” he answers, typing out a response.  “You’re normally early to class.”

“I accidentally took a three hour nap,” she admits sheepishly.

Minseok sends the message and locks his phone.  “Three hours?” he asks, laughing a little.

Eundae whacks his arm.  “I was tired,” she whines.

He snorts and goes to say something in response but Yixing calls for everyone back so he just waves at her and goes to his normal spot in the second line.

Yixing calls Ten and the blond dancer, whose name turns out to be Hansol, forward to demo the new combo for the day with him, and when they hit play on the music and start to move Minseok swears all of the air in the room vanishes.  The combo itself is pretty standard from what he’s seen of Yixing’s style, but the three of them just add a whole other layer of skill and sexiness to it - especially Yixing. Minseok can’t take his eyes off him as they demo it again since the timing is faster than usual.

When they break it down, he finds the steps easy to pick up, and once the three of them are satisfied that everyone knows the choreo Yixing addresses the class.

“As some of you might have noticed, the steps of this combo are easier than some of the other combos we’ve done in the past.  The important part of this piece, though, isn’t how difficult the steps are but your interpretation of them. I expect everyone to bring a bit of their own style, their own expressions, their own personality, to this combo.”  He pauses and scans the group, smiling slightly as his eyes pass Minseok. “We’ll be showing this in groups of three today. Find a group and stand together, please.”

Minseok immediately looks at Eundae.  She winks at him and then bounds over to stand next to him.  “We need one more,” she muses. “Oh, do you have a group yet?” she asks, turning to the guy next to them. 

He blinks in surprise.  “Uh, no.” 

“We need one more!” Eundae says, smiling at him.  “You can be with us.”

“Okay,” he says quietly, offering the two of them a quick smile. 

Ten sweeps by and tells them that they’re group number 6 before winking at Eundae, who makes to kick him.  He dodges her foot and heads back to where Yixing is standing on the side, watching them.

The first group goes up and they, along with the rest of the class, sits against the mirror to watch.  They’re pretty good, and Minseok claps automatically when they’re done. Yixing has them go again after giving a couple pointers, and then the next group goes, and the next.  Minseok isn’t really watching, instead half lost in his thoughts and half listening to Eundae wring a conversation out of their third group member, whose name is apparently Soonyoung. 

Another two groups go and then Yixing says “And last but not least, Group 6,” and Minseok starts a little.  He glances at Eundae, who grins as she gets up, and then at Soonyoung, who just shrugs a little. He stands and brushes himself off, going to a spot behind the two of them as to make a triangle on the floor.  Hansol hits play on the music and as he waits for the note that signifies the count before the combo he grooves to the song a little, letting his muscles relax. He hears the count and taps out the last four beats on his leg before moving on one.

Luckily for him, the combo matches his favorite styles, so he goes for it, making every sharp movement freeze and every body roll smooth, matching the tempo of the music exactly.  He even throws in his signature facial expression near the end, where there’s a rocking movement with a hand on the belt line, and keeps it until the last beat, staring down the mirror with all of the intensity and power he usually keeps buried.  He’s sweaty, the studio having been warm, and he makes it work.

They finish the combo and the rest of the class breaks into cheers, much louder than they had been for any of the other groups.  Minseok sees Ten grin at Eundae and then his eyes meet Yixing’s. The instructor’s gaze is heavy, almost sparking with something Minseok can’t quite name, and then it breaks when Hansol whoops and Yixing looks away.

“Oh, look at the time,” he exclaims, gesturing for everyone to stand back up.  “We ran over, I’m so sorry. Quick cool down, everyone.” He runs through their stretches and then dismisses them, busying himself with the music system.

Minseok grabs his water from the side and takes a big gulp, trying to calm his racing heart.  Eundae and Ten appear at his side as if by magic. “You want to grab dinner with us?” Eundae asks.  “Ten told me about this Thai place he loves and I really wanna try it.”

Minseok smiles at them.  “Thanks, guys, but I already have dinner plans.  Next time, though, for sure.”

“Plans?” Ten grins back.  “From what Eundae’s said, I didn’t think you had time for outside plans.”

“Nah, it’s not really outside plans,” Minseok answers, picking up his bag.  “It’s with a friend from work.”

“I see, I see,” Eundae says, pouting as she swings her bag over her shoulder and starts walking out.  When she notices that Minseok isn’t following her, she turns back to look at him questioningly. “Coming?”

“I actually have to ask Yixing something,” he says sheepishly.  “I’ll see you in a couple days, yeah?”

She wiggles her eyebrows.  “See you later, Minseok!” she yells, loud enough that the other stragglers pause for a second before continuing what they were doing.  He flips her off in response and watches as she follows Ten out the door, laughing the entire time.

The last person finally leaves, and Minseok pretends to fiddle with his phone for another few seconds before he walks over to where Yixing is frowning at a laptop.  “Yixing?” he says tentatively.

Yixing jumps and whirls around to look at him.  “Minseok,” he breathes, smiling a little bit. “What’s up?”

Before Minseok can launch into his spiel about Jongdae, Yixing continues.  “You looked amazing in class today, you know. Exactly the kind of precision and stage presence that combo needs.” He pauses.  “Sehunnie tells me they’ve asked you to come to Performance practices?” At Minseok’s surprised nod, he grins. “You should go.  I think you’d make a fantastic addition to the team.”

“I’ve discussed it with my manager,” Minseok responds.  “We’re working on finding a time where I can go.” He runs a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face.  “I’d really like to try it out.”

Yixing smiles and Minseok is once again struck dumb by his gorgeous dimples.  “Good.” He turns back to the laptop and closes a few windows before unplugging it from the sound system and closing it with a snap.  “I’m sorry, I interrupted you before,” he says, carrying the computer over to a black backpack resting near the door. “What did you want to ask?”

“Oh, uh, I was just wondering if we had room for one more person in this class,” Minseok says, nervously rubbing his hands together.  “My friend from the company got his comeback pushed since they don’t think his dancing is up to par, and he knows I’ve been taking classes here, and I offered to ask if he could join this class so he knows someone in it, and he’s actually pretty good, not at all bad, so I guess I was just hoping you’d say -”

“Minseok.”  He stops rambling and looks up from the floor.  Yixing is smiling directly at him. “Of course your friend can come.  Just have him fill out the forms online like you did, I’ll let Soohyun at the front desk know that we’re accepting him.  What’s his name?”

Minseok gulps.  “Kim Jongdae,” he mumbles.

Yixing’s eyebrows fly up in surprise for a second before he schools his expression into a more neutral one.  “Okay, I’ll let her know.” He shoves his arms into the straps of his backpack. “Might need to remind people about their confidentiality agreements again, just to be safe,” he adds, opening the door of the studio and ushering Minseok out.

“I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” Minseok says, chuckling a little.

Yixing smiles.  “I guess I’ll see you and Jongdae next class, then.”

Minseok smiles back at him.  “You will.” He heads toward the building door before stopping in his tracks and turning back around.  “Yixing!” he calls.

When the other man looks up from the note he’s writing at the front desk, Minseok grins.  “Thank you!” He waves and walks backwards out of the building, keeping Yixing’s returning grin and his beautiful dimples in his line of sight for as long as he can.

 

Once he clambers into his car and his driver turns onto the street, he pulls out his phone and calls Jongdae.

“You’re in,” he says without preamble when Jongdae picks up.

“Really?” Jongdae’s voice rises an octave with the question.

“Yup!” Minseok says cheerfully.  “You just have to fill out the online form I did.”

“Thank you, Minseok, thank you so much, oh my god, thank you,” Jongdae shouts.  “You’ve literally saved my comeback.”

“Nah, it’s all you,” Minseok responds, smiling.  “But we need to have a celebratory dinner, so where do you want to go?”

“Uh…” Jongdae hums as he thinks, and Minseok can’t help the image of him that fills his brain, kitty lips pressed together, one hand holding the phone to his ear while he drums his fingers on his leg with the other, his freshly-dyed black hair falling over his forehead, forehead scrunched in thought.  “I was kind of planning on staying in tonight? So if you want, you can come over and we’ll get delivery or something and we can just chill, I can text you my address…” 

“That works for me,” Minseok says.  “I’ll pick up food on the way. Any preference?”

“I do like Chinese,” Jongdae responds, and Minseok can hear the smile in his voice.  “Or lamb kebabs.”

“Okay, so steamed dumplings, fried rice, and three orders of lamb kebabs.”

“Minseok, you’re the best,” Jongdae says fervently.  “Don’t tell Baekhyun I said that.”

“Are you kidding?” Minseok gasps amidst his giggles.  “I’m going to lord this over him for the next month.”

“Oh god,” Jongdae groans, but Minseok knows he’s laughing as well.

“I’ll see you soon with food,” he promises.  

“Text me when you’re close,” Jongdae responds, and Minseok replies with an affirmative before hanging up.  A message comes in maybe thirty seconds later with an address, which Minseok saves before directing his driver to head to his favorite Chinese restaurant near his apartment.

They make relatively good time, the food having been ready right when he had gotten to the restaurant, and it doesn’t take long for Jongdae to buzz him into the building.  He hikes up the two flights of stairs to Jongdae’s third-floor apartment, plastic takeout bag clenched tightly in his hand, and pauses to take a deep breath before he knocks on the door.

It swings open after a second and Minseok is almost blinded by Jongdae’s smile.  “That was fast,” he says, ushering Minseok in.

“Food was ready when I got there,” Minseok answers, slipping his shoes off and passing Jongdae the plastic takeout bag.  

“You’re the best,” he repeats, inhaling deeply as he heads further into his apartment.  “Come on, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Starved.”  Minseok smiles as he follows Jongdae into his kitchen.  “Yixing really knows how to tire me out.”

“Yixing?” Jongdae asks, rummaging in a cabinet for plates.

“Oh, that’s the instructor's name.”  Minseok feels his face start to warm as he remembers the combo they had done, and how Yixing had looked doing it, and he’s very thankful Jongdae’s back is to him as he searches for silverware.  “He’s really nice and an amazingly talented dancer. Like, eons better than I could ever hope to be.”

“Okay, I’m sure that’s not true,” Jongdae says, turning around and pointing at him with a large serving spoon.  “You are an amazing dancer, stop being modest.”

“No, really,” Minseok responds, smiling a little and holding his hands up since he’s still being threatened by a spoon.  “He’s phenomenal.”

Jongdae just mock-glares at him before passing him a set of chopsticks.  

“You’ll see in two days,” Minseok adds.  

“Fine, whatever,” Jongdae groans.  “Do you want to watch a movie or something while we eat?” he says after a second.

“Sure.”  Minseok takes the plates from him, steadfastly ignoring the tingle in his fingers from where he brushed Jongdae’s hands.  “I have no preference, you pick something.”

Jongdae grins, his face a little pink.  “I don’t even know what I have saved,” he says, walking into the open space at the center of his apartment and collapsing on a black sofa facing a large TV.  “Don’t judge.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Minseok responds, perching carefully on the other end and placing their food on the little table in front of them.

“So, I have a couple of movies Kyungsoo was in, uh, a drama Baekhyun was in, a couple other random movies, some bullshit robot drama, and - oh!”  Jongdae looks at him excitedly. “You remember Chanyeol, right?”

“How could I not?” Minseok grins as he picks up a dumpling with his chopsticks.

Jongdae grins back.  “Wanna see him in a murder mystery?”

“I didn’t know he could act,” Minseok says through his mouthful of food. 

“Eh, he’s okay,” Jongdae says, selecting the movie.  “Better than his first acting gig, to be sure. I think Kyungsoo gave him some tips.”

Minseok grins as the opening credits roll.  “I’m excited for this.”

They spend the next two hours fully immersed in the movie, laughing at the bad special effects and the ridiculous amount of drama and the characters’ terrible jokes - Minseok does cringe for real when Chanyeol’s character shows up dead, but he’s already guessed who the murderer is so it’s not too much of a surprise twist at the end.  

Both he and Jongdae are yawning while the credits roll, which he takes as a sign.  “I’m going to head out,” he says, stifling yet another yawn. “Got another long day tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Jongdae says, stacking the empty takeout containers.  “Let me know when you get home?”

“Of course,” Minseok replies, smiling briefly at him.  He stands from the couch and heads toward the door, following Jongdae into the kitchen to grab his jacket off the back of a chair and mentally smacking himself when he gets distracted by the sight of Jongdae bending over to put their utensils into his dishwasher.  He makes it to the entrance, stuffing his feet back in his shoes, and when he waves goodbye he feels his cheeks flush seeing Jongdae’s lips curl up into his catlike smile. “See you tomorrow!” he says, and Jongdae smiles harder.

“Bye, Minseok-hyung,” he singsongs, and Minseok lets him see the way he rolls his eyes fondly before he leaves, carefully closing the door behind him.

The image of Jongdae’s grin, the way his eyes scrunch happily when he laughs, stays in Minseok’s head for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> surprise~  
> i've been working on this for Ages and i figured i should get the first chapter out in the world ^^  
> [stream namanana](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlUsnZjfYZA)  
> come talk to me on [tumblr](http://ymj-writes.tumblr.com) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/allforexot9)  
> ♥ yixingminseokjongdae


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